This invention relates to flying shears for severing a continuously advanced wire, including two cooperating cutting members moved simultaneously in a direction parallel to the axis of the wire (that is, parallel to the direction of wire feed).
Diverse types of flying shears are known. The problem encountered in conventional structures resides in the provision of a sufficient free space between the wire to be cut and the knives of the cutting members subsequent to the cutting operation to ensure that the cutting device can be returned into its initial position. In many instances the cutting apparatus has to be adjustable within wide limits with regard to the wire lengths to be cut. Thus, the cutting apparatus has to be so designed that in case relatively short wire lengths are to be cut, it is capable of performing a sufficiently large number of cutting operations per time unit. In addition to the desirability of a wide selection of lengths, a narrow length tolerance of the cut wires is also required.